1. A bribe. When you've dealt with this bureaucracy as long as I have, you know that you've got to give out plenty of sweeteners to get anything done.

2. A financial inducement offered to someone as an incentive for accepting a job. It turns out the incoming CFO was given a $15 million sweetener just months before the company laid off over 800 employees.

3. Anything presented or offered as an incentive encouragement. I know you're not sure about going in on this deal with me, but how's this for a sweetener? They're offering to put us up in a five-star hotel while we're there! The booking company is offering a 15% discount as a sweetener for new customers to sign up.